For the second time in a month, conservation experts in Virginia are set to open an apparent time capsule found in the remnants of a pedestal that once held a statue of Confederate general Robert E Lee.
State officials hoped Tuesday’s opening of the aged copper box, which was discovered and carefully extracted from the monument site on Monday, will mark the end of a long search for an elusive time capsule deposited in 1887.
“They found it! This is likely the time capsule everyone was looking for,” Governor Ralph Northam tweeted Monday after the box was plucked from the rubble.
Northam ordered the enormous equestrian statue of Lee removed in 2020, amid global protests against institutional racism which were sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. The statue was not removed until September, after a court cleared the way.
News accounts from the late 1800s detailed the placement of the time capsule in the foundation of the pedestal, and imaging tests appeared to confirm its existence. But a lengthy search during the September statue removal came up empty.
Earlier this month, Northam ordered the pedestal removed as well, and crews again started to search for the artifact. A time capsule was discovered two weeks ago, generating excitement, but hours of examination suggested that artifact was placed by someone else, perhaps someone involved with the construction.
Northam’s office said the newly discovered box underwent an initial analysis on Monday. Its dimensions match the size listed in the historical record and X-rays showed it appeared to include items such as books, coins, buttons and perhaps a type of civil war-era ammunition, according to a news release.
Historical records led to speculation that the capsule might contain a rare and historically significant photo of Abraham Lincoln taken after the 16th president was assassinated at the end of the civil war, in April 1865.
Records maintained by the Library of Virginia suggest Richmond residents, organizations and businesses contributed about 60 objects to the capsule, including Confederate memorabilia. One line from a newspaper article also listed among the contents “picture of Lincoln lying in his coffin”.
Harold Holzer, a historian and Lincoln scholar, believes it’s highly doubtful the picture is an actual photograph of Lincoln in his coffin because the only known photo of Lincoln in death was taken by photographer Jeremiah Gurney in city hall in New York on 24 April 1865.
More likely, Holzer said, it could be a popular Currier & Ives lithographic print of Lincoln lying in state in New York or a sketch done by an artist who may have witnessed Lincoln’s body during a two-week tour the president’s body was taken on before his burial in Springfield, Illinois.
Tuesday’s opening could start to provide an answer – depending on the conditions of the objects inside. Devon Henry, a contractor whose company is overseeing the pedestal removal, said on Monday that the box was found sitting in water.
The capsule opening was set to begin at 1pm ET.
Post a Comment